A SEX shop licence has been renewed despite concerns being raised about the area's link to the Bullfinch child abuse case. Tonight at a Licensing and Registration Sub Committee meeting at Oxford City Council councillors agreed to renew the licence
A HOSPITAL in Abingdon could have the answer to the country’s bed-blocking problems and growing elderly population. Abingdon Community Hospital, in Marcham Road, is home to a pilot scheme – a new medical department called the emergency multidisciplinary
IT TOOK a loan, a hike in the Council Tax and generous donations but Yarnton will soon get its hard-won new pavilion. The wooden pavilion at Little Marsh Sports Field, in Green Lane, has been demolished to make way for the £328,772 structure.
VOLUNTEERS, staff and guests at Helen & Douglas House in Magdalen Road held a special celebration to mark the Muslim festival of Eid. It was the first time in four years that the children’s and young adults’ hospice organised an event to mark
AN ESTATE is waiting for answers from the county’s new transport boss on whether a junction on the A40 will be reopened. The gap in the carriageway – which allows drivers to enter and exit Risinghurst from Collinwood Road – has been shut since
STEPHANIE Ballard loved attending the Jackie Bebbington School of Dance at Rose Hill Community Centre when she was growing up. Now a mum herself, she wants her three-year-old daughter to experience her passion for dancing. But the school closed
WORK to install new play equipment worth more than £30,000 at a North Oxford recreation ground is set to begin shortly. The Friends of Aristotle Lane Recreation Ground has successfully raised the money to buy equipment for older children. A
GRAND Designs TV presenter Kevin McCloud’s plans for Northway will be on show at the annual Northway Open Day on Sunday. The event is being held on the Northway football field next to the community centre and organisers are taking the opportunity
OXFORD United coaches Darryl Cribben and Kevin Warland like to stay match-fit. And they are maintaining their fitness levels by preparing for a long distance challenge – the Oxford Half Marathon. The pair will be taking part in the gruelling
A SCHEME to completely revamp a South Oxford church is nearing completion. The £500,000 project at St Luke’s Church in Canning Crescent started in February and is due to be completed in October. The Rev Jane Sherwood said: “We have got to the
The Westgate Shopping Centre was evacuated this afternoon after a “joke shop firework” was let off. The children’s toy was set off in clothes retailer Primark and led to the entire centre being evacuated at about 3.50pm for approximately 40 minutes
CONCERNS have been raised over parking issues in Blackbird Leys as work gets under way on the new swimming pool. The legal battle over the £7.2m swimming complex has possibly ended, but a new row has sparked over the construction. Parish council
A MAN has been jailed after he bit a supermarket manager during an “inept” attempt to carry out a robbery at knife-point. Daniel Townsend, of Daubeny Road, East Oxford, admitted trying to force employees at Sainsbury’s in Heyford Hill to give him
SEVENTEEN-year-old Kit Pentlow was among the young people who went to pop-up shops to get advice about apprenticeships and possible career paths. The event was held at an empty shop in Oxford’s Westgate Shopping Centre on Thursday and Friday and
Chipping Norton’s Sean Walkinshaw Racing celebrated a jubilant homecoming to Silverstone by claiming a podium finish in all three races – including a second successive win for Matty Graham. Graham’s lights-to-flag win from pole in round 16, added
OXJAM volunteers proved their passion for raising cash for Cowley charity Oxfam by having the festival’s logo tattooed on their bodies. About 10 people involved with Oxfam’s Oxjam Oxford Takeover — an annual music festival – were tattooed featuring
VOLUNTEERS who transformed a derelict shop into a community and charity hub have paid tribute to the woman whose charisma made it happen. Valerie Prior, of East Hendred, has run the Tin Hut charity shop in her village for five years with her sister
SCHOOL pupils across the country are nervously awaiting the results of their GCSEs on Thursday, following the release of the A-Level results last week, says Tara Prayag, Head of widening participation at Oxford University. Here at the university
CYCLISTS enjoyed a family cycling day at one of Oxfordshire’s most popular visitor attractions. But some were disappointed that a much larger popular annual event had been cancelled. Families took advantage of the once-a-year opportunity to
Oxfordshire's Alice Powell extended her lead at the top of the rankings following a first and second place at Silverstone over the weekend. The result saw the Chipping Norton ace stretch her advantage to 26 points. On Saturday, Powell driver stormed
CHOLSEY: A mountain bike and a racing bicycle were stolen by a burglar who broke into a shed. The crime happened in Station Road between 12pm on Friday, August 9, and 8am last Friday. Any witnesses can call 101 with information.
N OXON: A by-election will be held after a Labour member of Cherwell District Council stepped down. Patrick Cartledge, right, a Labour member for Banbury Ruscote, has resigned. He was not available for comment. The council received requests
A waste firm is proposing to double the amount of human waste it dumps by a village in north Oxfordshire. Peter Bennie Ltd wants to dump 40,000 to 50,000 tonnes of “bio-solids” at Wroxton Fields Quarry, Wroxton Parish Council has told residents
Champion Jon Jukes (Izzi’s Bar) began the defence of his title by defeating George Bar’s Carl Pitson in the preliminary round of the Greene King ODDA Summer League’s men’s singles. He will be joined in the next round by teammates Aaran Stevens
BICESTER battled back to beat Southam 27-17 in their friendly at Oxford Road. Southam led 10-0 thanks to tries from Sam Bench and James Constable, but Bicester levelled with a brace from Matt Duncalf. Steve Risbridger gave Bicester a 15-10
North Leigh are looking to keep up the momentum when they travel to Fleet Town tonight in Calor League Division 1 South & West. The Millers beat Merthyr Town 2-1 in their opening game on Saturday, while Fleet lost 5-0 at Cinderford, but boss
SANDFORD: A thief smashed a window to take a laptop, camera, watches and cash from a Church Road home. The burglary happened between Thursday and Sunday. Call police on 101 with information.
OXFORD: A High Court judge has refused permission to go ahead with a judicial review into the planning approval for the Blavatnik School of Government building. Oxford City Council awarded the building in Walton Street planning permission in May
Two men have been cautioned by police after being found in possession of heroin. The 42-year-old from Bicester and 36-year-old from Reading were arrested following a raid in Winterbourne Close on Saturday.
Two men accused of manslaughter following the death of a man who fell through a roof at their farm will face court again next year. John Binning, 64, from Great Park Farm, Besselsleigh, and James Binning, 27, from Binnings Farm, Besselsleigh, appeared
Kingstone Press Championship One OXFORD RL slipped to a 54-10 defeat at promotion hopefuls North Wales Crusaders, who came on strong in the second half. Wrexham-based Crusaders led just 18-10 at the break, but Oxford fell away in the last 20
SO, Prime Minister David Cameron would not object to fracking in his own constituency “as long as the proper planning process was followed”. Nobody should be surprised by this belated admission from the Witney MP, given that he went on record last
IT was a moment that new parents Sean Adams and Shelley Austen feared might never happen. But last week 100-year-old Doris Kitchen was able to hold their daughter and her great, great- granddaughter Myla Marie Adams – the fifth living generation
Oxford City president Thomas Guerriero says his plans for the club are on course to succeed. The Florida-based tycoon was at Marsh Lane on Saturday as City were beaten 2-1 by Harrogate Town in their opening game, but despite the defeat Guerriero
MOLLINGTON: Money has been stolen from the collection box at the village church. The crime happened on Saturday, August 10, between 9am and 5.30pm. Police said a black BMW was seen parked outside the church when the crime took place. Call 101
ABINGDON: A robber who avoided jail after targeting a store where a heavily pregnant woman was behind the counter has broken the terms of his suspended sentence. Shane Bishop, of St Helen’s Mews, Abingdon, was spared jail after he admitted the
BICESTER: A 30-year-old man has been accused of a sex attack at 3.30am on an 18-year-old woman last month. Adam Barker, of Merlin Way, was charged with the sexual assault in London Road on Sunday, July 21. He appeared before Banbury Magistrates
OXFORD: Police from the Wood Farm neighbourhood team will set up base at the Churchill Hospital in Headington from today. Thames Valley Police announced in May that the Wood Farm police base in Atkyns Road would close and the team would move to Cowley
NIGEL Butcher has been observing nature his whole life, but for most of that time he kept his observations to himself. Although he was always a passionate artist, it was only in 2009 after leaving a career as a surveyor and construction manager
MANY people, including myself, have always supported the tireless and good work that Councillor Mick Haines has, for a long time, done for the residents of Marston and the surrounding area. He has become the people’s champion, as he always supports
When Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities, said he wanted to allow drivers to park on double yellow lines for up to 15 minutes, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. His idea is that local economies are suffering and they need extra car
THIS holiday season FOUR PAWS continues to receive reports of animals that have simply been abandoned by owners who have not made arrangements for their animals to be cared for while they are away. Many pet owners do not realise that, under the Animal
I AM writing in response to the recent article about Co-op nurseries. I have found myself getting more annoyed about it. The article seems to suggest that the previous Petit Enfant nurseries received an inadequate Ofsted report and after that,
Now that Oxford City Planning has loosened its grip of control, developers wield the power. Historically, council planners considered their communities first. Now they don’t appear to realise that so many structural changes and varying sized developments
THE horror on the streets and in the mosques of Cairo (August 17) is a reminder to us all of the importance of democracy in every country. Shooting civilians is never an answer, whether they are Catholics in Northern Ireland, Sunnis in Syria or
THE council is planning to spend vast sums of money changing the shape of the Plain and cycle lanes in general throughout our city. I’m sure many would agree with me that the money would be better spent, firstly on the bad condition of many of
PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY LONDON Welsh showed Chinnor no mercy, scoring 17 tries in a 107-5 victory at Kingsey Road. The Exiles fielded different teams in each of the three 30-minute periods as they tore Chinnor apart, with wing Joe Ajuwa scoring
JUSTIN Burnell blasted his London Welsh side for conceding a try in their 107-5 victory at Chinnor. But the Exiles’ head coach still felt there were far more postives than negatives from the Oxford-based club’s first pre-season match. “We conceded
A proposed move to take Kimi Raikkonen from the Enstone-based Lotus Formula 1 team to Red Bull for next season has broken down, according to the Finn’s manager, Steve Robertson. Speculation was rife that Raikkonen would leave Lotus at the end of
Sean Rigg will undergo a scan tomorrow to find out the severity of his hamstring injury. The winger pulled up while sprinting for a ball just 24 minutes into Oxford United’s 3-1 win at Torquay United on Saturday. He was immediately substituted
NEARLY half of Oxfordshire schools inspected last year improved, despite concerns over a controversial new grading system. Ofsted changed the categories by which it judges schools’ performance last September. Teachers and parents feared it would
THERE was a break in league action last week as teams assembled en masse at the Green Road Club (Kidlington) to participate in the ‘Films’ themed Tabletop. Instantly noticeable upon entering the room was the absence of ‘Howie’, the ‘Barry Norman
MENTAL health nurses will be helping county police out on patrol and responding to emergencies. Thames Valley Police is one of five new forces to pilot the new scheme from the Department of Health, it was announced today. The Government is
The landmark ruling which listed the Kassam Stadium as an asset of community value has been challenged by owners Firoka. Oxford City Council, whose decision in May under the Localism Act (2011) was the first of its kind, will hold an internal review
A NEW £1.5m bus scheme to ferry students and workers in and out of Headington’s hospitals and universities was unveiled yesterday. Oxfordshire County Council hopes providing services specifically for workers from Thornhill and Water Eaton park
ANYONE who has sat and seethed in one of Headington’s legendary traffic jams should welcome yesterday’s announcement of new bus routes for the area. The aim of the £1.5m scheme is to provide a fast, dedicated service from two park-and-ride locations
HUNDREDS of people across Oxford are renting private parking spaces to commuters, tourists and shoppers. The website ParkatmyHouse.com currently has 396 spaces advertised by local residents, more than three times the 110 registered spaces in 2009
MINOR COUNTIES CHAMPIONSHIP Western Division Sidmouth (2nd day of 3): Devon 233 & 369-7 dec (M Thompson 107, J Bess 66no, D Lye 66, A Allen 49, R Holman 35, F Vainker 3-57), Oxfordshire 81 & 89-1 (R Kaufman 50no, L Sabin 31no).
STUDLEY Wood strengthened their hold on Section 2 in the Shaw Gibbs Oxfordshire Foursomes League with a 3-0 whitewash at home to Witney Lakes. Skipper Nigel Lawton and Robin King got the hosts away to a good start, shaking hands with Matt Gatland
Minor Counties Championship Oxfordshire must bat out the last day if they are to avoid a heavy defeat by Devon in their final Western Division match at Sidmouth. Resuming on 49-6 in reply to Devon’s 233, Luke Ryan’s side were bowled out for
FIVE acres of barley were destroyed by a field fire last night. <> Four fire crews from Oxford were called to the blaze near Tilbury Farm in Tilbury Lane, Botley, at 8.31pm. Firefighters were there until 11pm. No one was hurt in the incident
CHIPPING Norton’s newest member will have plenty of people doing a double take in the clubhouse. Former England cricketer Gladstone Small, who is also a member at Wentworth, has joined the club. The 51-year-old, who played 17 Tests for England
GREGOR Brown claimed one of Frilford Heath’s major competitions by a single stroke. The senior, who plays off five, shot a nett 69 to edge out the club’s general manager Jimmy James in the Skelton Salver. Junior Harry Richardson also finished
AN AGE range of more than half a century was on show when The Springs’ juniors took on the club’s seniors. The friendly was organised to give the younger players some match practice, as they have been unable to get into a league this season.
SHAW GIBBS OXFORDSHIRE FOURSOMES LEAGUE Section 2 Studley Wood 3 (4pts), Witney Lakes 0 (0) (Studley scores first): N Lawton & R King bt M Gatland & J Lambourne 3 & 2, J McClure & G Stevens bt N Clayton & C Normington 1
Staff at Specsavers in Witney are trying to raise £1,000 to send a colleague to Botswana with charity Vision Aid Overseas. Richard Goring, manager at the Woolgate Shopping Centre store, hopes to fund the trip to help set up a new sight centre.
MUSICIAN Tim Brooks led a group sing-and-play-along session as part of a folk festival. About 25 people attended the session at The Bell pub in Main Street, Grove, as part of the White Horse Folk Festival on Saturday. It was led by members
FRILFORD Heath’s team were beaten into third place on home turf in the 24th Richard Pineo Shield. The Five Star Events competition attracted 26 teams, with the Frilford Fore, captained by Alistair Booth, finishing on 89 points. They lost out
This year’s Banbury Canal Day celebration will take place on Sunday October 6. It will mark 10 years of the event organised by Banbury Town Council. Attractions at the 10.30am to 5pm event will include dance, music, boat rides and food.
Road crimes, theft and antisocial behaviour have been identified as crime fighting priorities for the Banbury area. The Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) survey taken by 681 people highlighted the issues as concerns. Acting Sergeant Richard
Residents will make sure their drinks are shaken not stirred at a James Bond themed casino night on Friday. A variety of prizes will be available and professionals will be on hand to show the way. The casino night is in aid of MacMillan Cancer
More than 1,000 discounted bins – offered to mark 10 years of doorstep recycling – were sold by Cherwell District Council in July and August. The council sold 1,046 blue and brown bins for £10, instead of the usual price of £18 delivered and £15
A PERVERT who groped two teenage girls on Oxford buses has avoided a prison sentence. Christopher Swift, of Matthew’s Way, Wootton, near Abingdon, was found guilty of two sexual assaults in June this year after a two-day trial. A jury at Oxford
VILLAGERS say that two new houses are going to spoil their beautiful conservation area. Former racehorse trainer Chris Drewe has already been given planning permission for a four-bedroom house on his land at Lower Cross Farm in East Hagbourne,
A FORMER councillor has called for Oxford City Council to grant the re-licence of a sex shop ahead of a meeting to decide on its future today. Patrick Gray, who served as a city councillor for the east and central ward between 1979 and 1990, said
A CHARITY rowing club can buy new boats to stay afloat thanks to a £15,000 donation. Hinksey Sculling School will be able to replace oars and old wooden boats – some of which date back 20 years – with the money. It was given the donation last
Apparently the Aussies consider it a source of national pride that they've exported Peter Andre over here. Why don't we cheer ourselves up, then, that we've shoved Gordon Ramsay to America to shout, rant, rave and generally lose his melon over
